Page 48 of Lucien

No one wanted him around for long.

And then ten years after Evrard’s departure, Lucien had learned his moral compass wasn’t very strong at all.

He’d found Roman dying at Waterloo, his lower half broken into pieces from round shot, barely hanging on to consciousness. Luc had told himself he was saving a life, even as he’d known he was ending one.

Luc couldn’t even say why he’d chosen him, other than the obvious: he’d seen a bit of himself in Roman. Lost, scared, willing himself to be brave even at the very end. Another expendable soldier on another pointless battlefield.

It had seemed like destiny.

But maybe it had just been chance. Roman had been unlucky enough to be there when Luc’s loneliness finally got the best of him, when his selfishness won over his morals.

Roman had used to tell Lucien he didn’t blame him. That he’d take the life they had—blood-soaked as it may have been—over no life at all. But Luc had seen the look in Roman’s eyes when his family had renounced him, chasing him out of their home, calling him a demon all the while.

Roman would rather have been deadthen, Lucien had no doubt.

Luc having tried to kill Roman in his rage may have been the trigger for their falling-out, but Luc had long since had other sins to atone for when it came to his oldest friend.

Luc had stolen Roman’s humanity.

That was crime enough.

twelve

Jamie

“Where’syournewshadow?”

Jamie looked up from his computer to find Monique standing in the doorway between the kitchen and living room, eating dry cereal out of the box.

He’d been keeping himself busy fielding emails from potential clients. Picking up any major, time-consuming project didn’t sound particularly appealing at the moment—not when his mind was firmly focused on other, much more exciting new developments—but some requests were easy enough ways to keep his bank account full. Designing new websites, working out bugs on company apps, and so on.

“Luc? He’s running some errands.” Although, what errands a vampire could possibly have to run in this town, Jamie had no clue. And Luc hadn’t exactly been forthcoming with the answer.

Jamie’s vampire had seemed…preoccupied that morning. Not exactly distant—not when he’d made Jamie come twice before breakfast—but a little on edge, for sure.

But who knew how full of thoughts Jamie’s own head would be after multiple centuries of living? He supposed he’d find that out for himself eventually.

He grinned at the thought. How weird. How fuckingcool.

Monique was still standing in the doorway, fiddling with one of her braids now. “You seem happy,” she said. It sounded almost like an accusation.

Jamie shrugged. “I’m always happy.”

Monique hummed noncommittally, staring at him. “He’s kind of an odd duck, isn’t he?”

Jamie didn’t have to ask who she meant by “he.”

“I’mkind of an odd duck,” he pointed out, maybe a little sharply.

“Yeah, but you’re charming,” Monique countered. “And fun. Goofy. He’s very…intense. And not just because of his always-in-character costuming.”

“You know I’m odd in other ways.” Jamie turned back to his computer, thinking that would settle it. He and Monique didn’t talk about it directly—his “oddity.” Not since her ex’s accident. Not ever.

So he was surprised when Monique sat down next to him on the couch, placing her box of cereal on the coffee table before turning to face him. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, her favorite self-soothing method before confrontation. Jamie braced himself.

“I don’t blame you for what happened,” she said after another calming breath.

Oh, so they werereallyhaving this conversation. Jamie wished he had a cigarette. A toothpick. A piece of gum, even. He settled for tapping his fingers on his thigh. “I didn’t think you did.”

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